WATER

Villanova, as part of our commitment to the care for Creation, engages in proactive initiatives to reduce the University’s water consumption and to effectively manage stormwater.

Water Consumption

Villanova works to reduce our water consumption by:

• using water efficient fixtures that use on average 20% less water;
• minimizing the need for irrigation through the use of Integrative Plant Management;
• and, reducing disposable water bottle use on campus with the installation of over 90 hydration stations.

Water Management

Stormwater is managed through over 25 stormwater control measures (SCMs) found around campus. Many of these systems are equipped with monitoring devices to measure the quantity and quality of the rainwater as it moves through the different systems.

Rain Gardens

There are a number of rain gardens located around campus that collect stormwater from nearby roofs or other hardscapes. Once collected, the stormwater is disposed of in one of three ways: released back into the atmosphere through evapotranspiration, absorbed by the garden plants, or filtered through the garden bed to the groundwater.

A bio-infiltration rain garden was built on West Campus in 2001. This bio-infiltration Stormwater Control Measure (SCM) was designed to collect runoff from smaller storms from the West Campus student parking lots and is removed through evapotranspiration and infiltration. Water quality studies have shown that nitrogen and other parameters such as phosphorous and metals are significantly reduced.

Concrete, Asphalt and Pavers

Stormwater management becomes even more important in areas that are paved for roads or walkways. To help mitigate flooding and protect the environment, Villanova instituted a number of ways to manage water on paved surfaces.

Completed in 2007, a site near Mendal Hall uses both pervious concrete and porous asphalt to capture stormwater runoff from parking lot. The stormwater passes through either the pervious concrete or porous asphalt surface, and infiltrates through a rock bed into the ground. In extreme events, when the capacity of the storage beds is exceeded, water is directed out to the stormwater wetlands.

Additionally, a Treatment Train was installed in 2011 to manage runoff from the parking lot adjacent to St. Augustine Center. It includes a vegetated swale, followed by two rain gardens, and an infiltration trench. The swale and rain gardens act as pretreatment to the infiltration trench, reducing the sediment load and preserving the infiltration capacity over time.

Finally, permeable pavers can be found in many areas around campus. The pavers capture water from mostly impervious surface area, including pedestrian walkways, rooftops and some grassed areas. The permeable pavers are split up into three separate sections connected by piping. Below the pavers are rock storage beds (four feet deep) that help capture and slow the water flow. This system helps to reduce downstream stormwater volumes, stream bank erosion, and non-point source pollution.

Wetland

Reconstructed from a 1998 detention pond, Villanova’s largest SCM was rebuilt in 2010 in response to the new Law School building located north of the wetlands. The stormwater wetland treats 41 acres of water runoff including 16 acres of impervious surface. The watershed includes students’ residence halls, classroom buildings, parking, roads and a railroad. Since being rebuilt, the wetlands has seen growth in vegetation and species variety for both flora and fauna. It has been proven to be effective in both water quality and quantity control.

Drosdick Hall Green Roof

The green roof was a retrofit of a small portion of Drosdick Hall. By capturing and retaining the first half inch of every rain event, the green roof helps to reduce downstream stormwater volumes, stream bank erosion, and non-point source pollution. The green roof also protects the underlying roof material by eliminating exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet radiation and extreme daily temperature fluctuations.